-- Cut up an old pair of paint shorts into rags-- saved several foodstuff bags for doggie doo bags and am continuing to supplement with bags from work shipments too-- picked up an extra shift at work yesterday-- reused a couple of canvases with works on them that I was no longer thrilled with-- Drank homemade sweet tea, snacked on bogo strawberries today-- Lunch was leftover pasta, leftover shrimp, leftover green onion, leftover corn, and leftover cream cheese all mixed into something that was an okay tasting pasta dish....-- DH and I combined an ice cream date night with our newest 'side hustle'. Several scooter companies just moved into the area and they are electric. You can sign up to become 'chargers' for them, picking them up in the evenings and returning them to specified locations in the morning for use. DH went to an introductory course after being approved online and got 4 chargers. 4 scooters earns a minimum of 20.00 a night for the cost of walking them home and dropping them off in the early morning.....

- Biked to work (and from one work location to another about a mile away) for the 16th time in a row. Still pretty new, but becoming ingrained.- Took a co-worker up on some free fresh-caught fish from his deepwater fishing trip. I can't eat it, but wife and kids can.- Rejected the 'working lunch' provided, which recommended a $10 donation. Ate the food I brought/keep in my office instead. Had to leave the meeting shortly after lunch anyway.- Convinced brothers to do books only for Christmas gifts for nephews/nieces. 7 (and counting) books per year rather than various more expensive/wasteful plastic toys. Birthday gifts will hopefully follow at some point; one brother wants to do clothes, which would be ok with me.

-- Considered grabbing dinner out. Picked up a rotisserie chicken and bagged salad instead. -- Leftovers for lunch-- Shared some homemade cookies with several neighbors. Spreading community and the calories out ;)-- Will be meeting a neighbor for a dog park play date tomorrow morning. Free fun!

Picked our first English cucumber! Snacked on strawberries and cherry tomatoes from the garden while watering.Been opening the windows at night during this weird cool stretch.Upped the thermostat temp to an average of 79 (4-degree difference between floors).Made several loaves of bread.Found a lidded jar that will fit my burgeoning sourdough starter instead of buying a new jar or crock.Decided not to continue the kids' piano lessons right now. May start again later. Made a detailed grocery list based on sales ads and recipes we'll actually make.

Fixed my lawn mower. I bought it from the thrift store last year for $20. (It was marked $40, and I would have paid it. It's a nice mower. I asked the employee if we could try to start it, mostly so I could make sure it wasn't seized. He told me it didn't work, agreed anyway, and when it didn't start, knocked half off for some reason.) Cleaned the carbs last year, and it was fine. Has been having issues starting, and finally stopped completely the other day. So I checked the carbs again. They were fine. Paid 5 bucks for a spark plug, popped it in, and it runs like new again.

-Ate leftovers for lunch-Husband drove our electric car while I stayed home (working from home) -Making homemade naan pizza for dinner-Cleaned up our train table & boxed all Legos. Listed both on our local Facebook swap. Must not have priced the Legos correctly, because have had 5 responses in 10 minutes :-)-Considered getting the kids a new organizer, now that the train table has outlived its usefulness. Instead, remembered that we had a few awkward enclosed shelves nearby (I hate them, but they are nevertheless in our living room), which will work well for electronics and Magic card storage. All clutter is now removed from my living room & it looks so much better. -Made 2.5 dozen muffins out of a few elderly bananas

-We have been considering getting a dog for a year or so, since our last pup went from old age in 2016. We've been looking for something that meets both of our needs: I wanted a well-behaved rescue dog that isn't super large or loud, DH had his heart set on the same breed as our last (lab/retriever) but they are hard to come by (and expensive)!

Last week we were asked to watch a friends dog when they went out of town - a week on, we've been having a great time, and they've just asked if we will consider keeping the dog permanently (as they travel a heap for work and the dog doesn't get enough attention)! It's a beautiful small lab, 4 years old, well-trained and quiet. Having had her for the past few weeks has been a great trial, we know she isn't destructive or barky, and it has just worked out perfectly! Bonus, she is out of the tough puppy training stage, and comes with dog bed/toys/remaining food and tick treatment, which will save us big $$$!

-We have been considering getting a dog for a year or so, since our last pup went from old age in 2016. We've been looking for something that meets both of our needs: I wanted a well-behaved rescue dog that isn't super large or loud, DH had his heart set on the same breed as our last (lab/retriever) but they are hard to come by (and expensive)!

Last week we were asked to watch a friends dog when they went out of town - a week on, we've been having a great time, and they've just asked if we will consider keeping the dog permanently (as they travel a heap for work and the dog doesn't get enough attention)! It's a beautiful small lab, 4 years old, well-trained and quiet. Having had her for the past few weeks has been a great trial, we know she isn't destructive or barky, and it has just worked out perfectly! Bonus, she is out of the tough puppy training stage, and comes with dog bed/toys/remaining food and tick treatment, which will save us big $$$!

That sounds like a perfect match @11ducks ! Congrats to both you and your new dog.

I did grown up things and went to the dermatologist where she promptly removed two moles. Proactively removing potential skin cancer before it becomes an expensive issue is a money saver, right? Totally counts.

I did grown up things and went to the dermatologist where she promptly removed two moles. Proactively removing potential skin cancer before it becomes an expensive issue is a money saver, right? Totally counts.

I love this thread! Little do you all know that you’re about to become my accountability buddies:

1. Brought lunch from home 3 days this week.2. Discovered $360 in last year’s FSA that I will use to reimburse myself for vision expenses. (Does this count?)3. DH canceled our very unnecessary Vonage plan! $374/year in savings. Decreased our data plan with our cell phones, which gives us the option to sign up for a paperless and automatic payment that will save an additional $10/month for remainder of contract.4. DH also willing to switch to Metro PCS at end of contract, giving additional $40/month savings.5. Went to bank and got free paper wrappers for loose change.

#3 and #4 are monetarily small, but a major step for us. Just two or three weeks ago, I explained MMM and FIRE to DH, and he wasn’t really interested. But there’s been a sudden change of heart!

-Made homemade tomato sauce using tomatoes I froze when we went out of town (+bonus leftovers that were sliced from a barbecue yesterday) & fresh basil from our yard. Made 2 liters of fresh tomato sauce for the freezer-Made a homemade peach/nectarine salad yesterday using basil from the garden. My husband wanted to buy something pre-made, but I convinced him this would be better. :-)-Made homemade hummus for our barbecue -Returned an item for a small credit ($4)-Building our 2019 budget, and working through the details using a proposed part-time schedule for me. Numbers look awesome & will allow us a lot of flexibility in our transitional period!-Making homemade curry for dinner tonight, using ingredients we had on hand. (With the exception of $.50 worth of cilantro)

We have a hotel stay coming up, and I happened to notice that the hotel was having a new promotion ($25 Amazon gift card for online reservations made this week). I had already made the reservation earlier, but I called the hotel to ask if I could get in on it, and they said yes. Sometimes all you have to do is ask . . . :)

Not a little thing, a BIG thing. Today we sold my daughter's horse. She went to an excellent home with people who can afford to care for her. My daughter LOVES that horse, but she realized that her focus is on other things right now. We are both happy and a little sad. DD has also been invited to visit whenever she likes.

I'm slowly redoing my laundry room because it's not set up well, despite being a large space (5'5" x 7'7"). I was able to move the machines over and built a laundry cart to slide in between them to hold detergent/ other stuff currently on the too high shelves. A cart online that fit was in the $50- $60 range. I was friendly with the guys at Lowes so they found me some scrap wood that would fit and cut it all down for me. I had wood filler, paint and screws at home so all it cost me was the casters. Bonus: no more socks getting lost in the gaps between the machines or struggling with trying to reach the detergent on the high shelf.

We were recently traveling and we were notified we exceeded data usage on our phones. But we didn't actually exceed our data limit. So we called and the confirmed it was OK and we would not be charged more than $100 for roaming. Got home and they actually charged us $180. Spent a painful 50 min on the phone but got the $80 back.

Same trip, we were over charged 3 times by a hotel. All 3 were pending and when I called VISA to complain they said just wait and try to deal with the hotel. Emailed the hotel. 2 miraculously disappeared, and the 3rd was refunded. But due to currency conversion we lost almost $75. Called Visa to complain again. They are refunding the $75.

I'm slowly redoing my laundry room because it's not set up well, despite being a large space (5'5" x 7'7"). I was able to move the machines over and built a laundry cart to slide in between them to hold detergent/ other stuff currently on the too high shelves. A cart online that fit was in the $50- $60 range. I was friendly with the guys at Lowes so they found me some scrap wood that would fit and cut it all down for me. I had wood filler, paint and screws at home so all it cost me was the casters. Bonus: no more socks getting lost in the gaps between the machines or struggling with trying to reach the detergent on the high shelf.

- Brought cold brewed coffee from home to work- Packed my Breakfast & Lunch (have every day this year...and last year)- We have an office party today and I will volunteer to clean up in exchange for the leftovers.- Walked a puppy before work at ~6am +$20 (I guess this is money MADE, not SAVED?).... That's it so far, but it's only 8:40am, hopefully more to come! :)

On the phone with the landline company here at the office to ask why our bill increased by $50 over last month. The rep said the old bundle program expired. (I love their warning. Note my sarcasm.) Their new bundle package will put as at $10 less than we were originally paying. We'll see.

-Free breakfast & lunch at work-Picked up a new book off of the freebie table-Leftovers for dinner (we cook only on Friday/Saturday/Sunday & do leftovers during the week)-Drove with my husband to pick up the car. He suggested an Uber, but we did the round trip in 35 minutes & saved about $20.-Called about a discount code that dropped off an order after it was placed, & was credited $20

Pulled together a really tasty picnic dessert (lemon-berry cake) from ingredients on hand, rather than going out to buy special ingredients or a premade item.

Husband rigged up our Sodastream to a refillable CO2 tank. This plus reusable bottles means no more paying for cans of club soda or single-use CO2 cartridges.

I have a soda Sodastream machine and only use it for seltzer. How do you make club soda? Have you ever made tonic water?

Tip @Roadrunner53 & @OtherJen - I have a friend who has one and he figured out how to hack it to get super-cheap CO2 canisters for it. Now he does it at a fraction of the cost. (He is FI already, though he works part-time - from a chair by a beautiful lake - now for something to do.)

Pulled together a really tasty picnic dessert (lemon-berry cake) from ingredients on hand, rather than going out to buy special ingredients or a premade item.

Husband rigged up our Sodastream to a refillable CO2 tank. This plus reusable bottles means no more paying for cans of club soda or single-use CO2 cartridges.

I have a soda Sodastream machine and only use it for seltzer. How do you make club soda? Have you ever made tonic water?

Youíre right, we usually make seltzer although husband has the minerals and sometimes makes mineral water and club soda. I think he found the recipe online. We havenít done tonic water yet, but itís on his list of things to try.

We have a hotel stay coming up, and I happened to notice that the hotel was having a new promotion ($25 Amazon gift card for online reservations made this week). I had already made the reservation earlier, but I called the hotel to ask if I could get in on it, and they said yes. Sometimes all you have to do is ask . . . :)

Bolded the above: indeed. I ask for a cash discount on anything over $100; you would be surprised how often and how much I save...

Managed to keep the A/C off for all but two days of the latest heat wave. One of the days was a bit too far gone, and the other day we had company over (plus we were home all day; it's easier to keep it off when we're gone until 5-6 pm, at which point the sea breezes have started to kick in).

Makes a big difference to conserve where I live in SoCal, since the coastal communities (I'm near-coastal) pay very high rates, subsidizing the rates for the scorchingly hot inland areas (which still have high rates, but they're given much larger electricity allowances before increasing their price tiers).

Also, we canceled my daughter's swim class. Didn't do it to save money, but alas, it'll save us some money until we enroll her in something new (probably not until September/October as she's already dealing with a lot of transitions right now). We got what we needed out of it, and she wasn't enjoying it any longer.

- Took home leftovers at an office party as well as ate lunch at the office party and then ate my packed lunch for my dinner later that day. Score.

- Made frozen grain bags at home. I've been buying these grain mix frozen bags at Aldi, but they're $2.50-$3 each. They have a mix of grains and veggies that can serve as a base for a protein and make a whole meal. I made Orzo, Quionoa, White Rice, Black Rice, Chopped Spinach, onions, and carrots and sautťed them all together with a veggie broth I'd made from scratch a few weeks back (the last jar, was about to go bad, PHEW). It cost about $5 and made six large backs that will make two meal bases each. I froze them flat.

- Reused plastic grocery store bags for the dogs that I walk through Rover before and after work.

- Refilled both of my water bottles before I left work each day this week. We have a well and it keeps getting rainwater saturated. I rent, so I can't really do anything about it. S0..... I have to buy water to drink (it's ok to bathe in etc.)... If I fill me water bottles at work that usually gets me through the evening until I'm back at work the next morning.

- Worked on my Capsule Wardrobe yesterday. I made an inventory list and packed up 3 bags to give away. When I'm done with the project/it goes into maintenance mode, it will help me with decision fatigue, will stock my wardrobe with more classic well-made/longer lasting clothing, and will get me down to about 50 pieces of clothing (counting shoes, bags, belts, etc. - everything but unders).... this will free up closet space in my very small apartment. I could use that space to flip craigslist items (store them in there in the meantime), buy more grocery items in bulk (I usually have trouble with this with only one normal sized cabinet in the kitchen (you should SEE the weird stuff I have stored in the fridge), or who knows what? I'm excited about this one. One interesting thing I discovered while doing this? I do not own a dress. Not even one. Ha.

Didn't stop for fast food on the way home from the big city yesterday, and stopped for a water, cheese stick and small bag of nuts at the C store on the way home. Savings approx $8. Ideally, I would have had an extra protein bar stashed in my bag instead, but I need to restock on payday.

Saved .03/gal at the pump using my value card. Savings $0.59.

Still waiting for the credit to be put back on our office LL bill. The CSR said to check it in a few days, which it's been. I'll check again tomorrow....

Brought my lunchMade approx $10 on ibotta and Checkout 51 offers when buying snacks for workCombined trips downtown to go to the library and bank on the way to pick up kids from daycare

Non-mustachian - buying some new running shoes today at the local runner shop. I could get them online or delay longer but I like supporting the local business, and standing at markets and craft fairs in the old ones is starting to hurt my back!

Used my beginner hypermiling techniques on my commute (easy on the throttle, thoughtful use of acceleration, coasting when able, etc.) to improve gas mileage. I have figured I save $0.45 per day on my commute by doing this.

- Collected eggs from the hens on the farm I live on (rent) and hardboiled them for meals this weekend.

- Continued to use my little Panda style washer/spin dryer instead of bartering for laundry or going to a laundry mat (my least favorite place in the universe). I've had it for about 6 months now and LOVE IT.

- Did not stop for to-go coffee even though I was nearly nodding at the wheel. Cracked the windows and blared the radio the 8 more miles home and made a direct path to the cold brew in my fridge when I got home. Ha.

When we were caught in a downpour on the way home from the pool, I didn't buy a cheap umbrella or rain poncho from the Bangladeshi guy who appeared out of nowhere selling them. Instead, I made scootering home in the rain a fun game for my 6 year old.